ARTICLES ABOUT FIRE DAMAGE BY DATE - PAGE 4

From the baseball diamond at Patriot Park in Allentown, about a dozen people watched firefighters pour water into twin homes as smoke billowed into the sky. Fire wrecked the homes at 1017-1019 W. Wyoming St. on Sunday afternoon. Firefighters responded to a call at the twin homes around 4 p.m., and substantial firefighting efforts ceased at about 5 p.m. as the smoke cleared and firefighters opened the roof. According to Capt. John Christopher, no one was injured and three people have been displaced by the fire.

Two vehicles were damaged intentionally by fire and a pet duck was beaten to death at a trucking business in eastern Berks County, police said. The unidentified 65-year-old business owner first discovered fire damage to a vehicle March 15 on his Haydt Lane property in Longswamp Township, a half-mile east of the Bear Mountain Resort, state police at Reading said. The damage in that case was to the vehicle's gas cap, police said. The victim later discovered that his pet duck had been battered to death.

Allentown firefighters quickly knocked down a fire Thursday morning in a corner grocery store in a three-story building at Ninth and Allen streets. Tito Rosario of Lumber Street said he spotted the fire while walking his dog just after 6 a.m. and called 911. He said smoke was spewing out of the lower windows of the Delgado Service Center store at 601 N. Ninth St. Fire Capt. John Christopher said the fire was likely caused by an electrical problem because the fire started behind the freezers in the front of the store.

A fire badly burned a downtown Allentown row house Wednesday evening, melting power lines and chasing residents from the scene. The house next door also was damaged. Seven people were displaced in the 436 Chestnut St. fire, which fire officials blamed on a 4-year-old boy playing with a cigarette lighter. No one was hurt. City firefighters were hampered by live electric lines and by at least one resident who initially refused to leave the burning house, officials said. A man ignored police orders to get out, and a woman tried to run in the back door, officials said.

A Bushkill Township house was damaged severely Monday evening when a fire ignited near its attic and spread to the roof. No one was in the 21/2 -story home at 205 Gower Road, northwest of Nazareth, when the fire started at 5:30 p.m., and no one was reported injured. Bushkill Township Fire Company and neighboring fire companies rushed to the house as thick smoke poured from the roof. "All we see is smoke," neighbor Jay Patullo said as firefighters attacked the blaze from inside and outside the home.

An east Allentown auto repair garage was damaged, as were two cars inside, by a Monday night fire that churned out thick black smoke. No one was injured. The fire at L&R Auto Repair at 747 E. Highland St. was reported about 6:55 p.m., when at least one shop employee still was working, acting fire Capt. James Kutz said. "It ws going pretty good when we got there," Kutz said. "The cars were damaged, but I honestly don't believe that's where the fire started. " An office in the back also was damaged badly, he said.

Firefighters in Easton responded to a house fire on the South Side Monday morning. The fire at 105 Palmer St. was reported at 10:11 a.m. and firefighters were still on scene as of 12:30 p.m., according to the Northampton County Communications Center. The two-story, single-family house had heavy fire on the first floor, and firefighters were engaged in an extensive overhaul, according to emergency radio dispatches. According to Northampton County tax records, the home is owned by Joan M. Tanzella.

A fire severely damaged a house in the woods east of Walnutport on Friday night. No one was reported injured. Part of the single-story home at 3575 Beech Drive, Lehigh Township, was reported in flames at 8:35 p.m. The Lehigh Township Volunteer Fire Company was dispatched to the scene, and neighboring fire companies were called to help. Fire officials radioed that they were tapping into Indian Creek for water to battle the blaze, but they needed more water. At 10 p.m., firefighters remained at the house as they cleaned up and investigated.

Allentown fire officials have determined that a 3-alarm fire Sunday afternoon on Washington Street that left 16 people displaced was accidental The fire began in the ceiling of the second-floor bathroom of a home at 503 W. Washington St., and spread to two nearby homes, fire Capt. John Christopher said. The upper floors of all three residences were damaged, and Christopher said the buildings will need to be overhauled. Christopher said 16 people, including three children, continue to be displaced from the fire.

A fire in the basement of an apartment house on Main Street in Hellertown Wednesday night displaced an adult and a child. The American Red Cross of the Greater Lehigh Valley said it provided emergency lodging and meals to the adult and child living in a first-floor apartment at 315 Main St. The fire was reported at 7:40 a.m. Although smoke filled the house, firefighters concentrated on the basement and brought the fire under control in about...